Jauron’s 2009 Bills should crib from Jauron’s 2001 Bears

By Anthony Bialy  |   Wednesday, February 11, 2009  |  Comments( 130 )

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Buffalo Bills coach Dick Jauron owns a model for success. That’s model, single: His 13-3 mark for the 2001 Chicago Bears stands as his only winning coaching season. Thankfully, his team exhibited plenty of steady positives that year, which is good news for the squad he’ll be running this year. The upcoming edition of the Bills is capable of playing similarly to the last and only time Jauron’s emerged on top regarding victory quantity.

Noticeably, the Bears won 10 more games than they lost that season despite a .500-style offense. They racked up 311.1 yards per fixture, 15th out of what was then a Houston-less, 31-team NFL, not to mention a fair but unexceptional 21.1 points every outing. Chicago’s 13 wins came about from limiting scores rather than accumulating them: The Bears finished with the fewest points allowed, permitting only 12.7 per try.

They also stole the ball from opposing offenses when they weren’t stopping them. Thanks to the defense intercepting 20 passes and recovering 17 fumbles, the Bears finished fourth in turnover margin at plus-13; as Jauron mentions in every single press conference at which he has ever appeared, the winner of the turnover battle usually wins the game.

Meanwhile, the offense overcame the handicap that was quarterback Jim Miller, a journeyman of a carpetbagger who nonetheless started 13 games that season. While he unsurprisingly only mustered a 74.9 rating, Miller still managed 13 touchdowns compared to 10 interceptions. Chicago’s quarterbacks kept upright, too, only taking 17 sacks, including the six amassed by former Bills backup and then-Bears backup Shane Matthews during his three starts and four total appearances.

Powerful rushing made a middling passing aspect tolerable. Fellow former Bills sub Anthony Thomas ran for 1,183 yards as a Bear that season, 11th best in the league. His 4.3 yards per attempt showed that all an offense needs from its primary rusher is slightly remarkable proficiency; if Marshawn Lynch can eclipse that standard and approach superhuman status, it’s all the more gravy.

Chicago also triumphed frequently in part by outlasting foes: Those Bears won eight games by seven or fewer points, including back-to-back overtime victories versus the San Francisco 49ers and Cleveland Browns. It was simply more evidence that the team knew how to win, namely by avoiding errors while playing fabulously when the occasion called for it.

It’s speculation fantastic enough to belong in a Marvel comic, but there was an outside shot that they could have kept efficiently going until they set back the New England Patriots’ dynasty before it began if Miller had not suffered a separated shoulder during the Bears’ only playoff game, a divisional round loss against the Philadelphia Eagles. Sudden continuity disruption aside, their postseason’s brevity can’t take away that the same program Chicago used that season could work again for Jauron if the Bills pair vaguely competent quarterback play and a reliable rusher with swarming defenders.

They own the pieces: Replace Miller with Trent Edwards and upgrade Thomas with Lynch while modifying the phrase “aggressive defense” with “Bills” instead of “Bears,” and the blueprint’s already drawn.

Staying healthy on the defensive line will be as important as disciplined zone maintenance, two factors which will in turn allow players to strike when the opportunity presents itself. More generally, playing hard for the first and last minutes as well as the 58 in between on both of the ball’s sides is a point of emphasis which will obviously help Buffalo win close games; after all, Jauron’s men have done it before. Stressing the same themes will allow him to replicate his one coaching success, as it’s never too late for a second.
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